I have heard jokes and comments about the events depicted in this movie many times, and almost every time the person talking says "soccer", not rugby. Where did this (seemingly) wide-spread mistake start?
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I read somewhere - can't find the link - that the first film made in 73 depicted the boys as soccer players. Nando Parrado famously said 'if we had been soccer players, we would have died' see link here http://wesclark.com/rrr/alive2.html
shareSoccer is the sport that is most associated with Latin America. When I hear that an Uruguayan sports team's plane crashed in the Andes, my thoughts immediately go to soccer.
shareoh dear, more people calling football, soccer
sharetrickyrgg on Thu Jun 23 2011 12:41:28 writes:
oh dear, more people calling football, soccerOh dear, someone else who can't get used to the idea that "football" means different things in different parts of the English speaking world. share
"Oh dear, someone else who can't get used to the idea that "football" means different things in different parts of the English speaking world."
That might be true but considering one of those sports was invented first plus the fact that in said sport you use your FEET to play FOOTBALL i would say that inventing a game a century later where you mainly use your hands and calling it football is a rather stupid idea IMO.
99.9% of the world calls football, football (surprisingly). There is only one country where this is different.
This might be the same country that holds a World Series where only teams from that particular country can participate in.
Sorry for going off topic. I just thought that was a really stupid comment.
Gib11 on Thu Sep 22 2011 06:37:53 writes:
"Oh dear, someone else who can't get used to the idea that "football" means different things in different parts of the English speaking world."Stupid it might be, but there's no point getting all pedantic about the way someone else uses words. I can't think of an English expression sillier than "all corners of the globe". Of all the geometric shapes that are possible, a globe is the only one that has nothing by any stretch of the imagination that could be referred to as a corner. Getting upset about someone using the word "soccer" to refer to a game you know as "football" is as pointless as complaining about such illogical expressions, or those who refer to ale or stout as beer. I could list hundreds of examples if I was a pedant.
That might be true but considering one of those sports was invented first plus the fact that in said sport you use your FEET to play FOOTBALL i would say that inventing a game a century later where you mainly use your hands and calling it football is a rather stupid idea IMO.
99.9% of the world calls football, football (surprisingly). There is only one country where this is different.Not so. 80% of the world doesn't speak English at all. In Australia & New Zealand they use the word "football" to refer to the game commonly played during the winter with a ball and no bats or other implement to hit it with. Ireland has "Gaelic football", parts of Australia have "Australian Rules Football", usually abbreviated to 'football' by those who play it. In most of the rest, rugby league or rugby union is called "football".
Sorry for going off topic. I just thought that was a really stupid comment.You're entitled to that opinion. I thought your comment was as pedantic as trickyrgg's. share
Who's getting pedantic?
I'd say were both as bad as each other.
I was just a bit bored on my lunch so thought i'd have a little rant. Didnt meant to offend you mate.
Well, what do you think the non-English-speaking-countries of the world call a sport where the whole point is to move the ball around with your feet (and head) and not your hand?
Yeah, you guessed it, in Germany it's fussball, in the Netherlands it's voetbal, in Sweden it's fotboll etc. Even where they haven't directly translated the name they call it pretty much the same thing. As in futebol in Spanish-speaking countries or just football spelled with other letters in places like the Middle East and North Africa.
I used to get really offended about the soccer crap until I learned where it came from and thought it was kinda nice that it had such a historical significance.
But then again, the fact that in a country like the U.S there is actually another sport which is called football, where you very rarely use your foot and the fans of which have often said thing like "I don't like a sport where a man can't use his hands" with reference to football/"soccer". And these idiots still call their sport FOOTball. This is why I share the resentment for "soccer" still. I have bigger worries in life, but we in the football world will always have this beef. It's by far the biggest sport in the world, with a passion surrounding it that other sports will never come close to. It truly unites most of the world. The only countries that don't call it football are some former Brit colonies and some *beep* small countries that just adopted the term used by the world's superpower. Football is the most popular sport in the majority of the world's countries, and even in places where it may not be number 1, it's still huge. It has more interest and following than ALL OTHER SPORTS COMBINED.
There.
the_words on Sat Jun 8 2013 18:09:04 writes:
Well, what do you think the non-English-speaking-countries of the world call a sport where the whole point is to move the ball around with your feet (and head) and not your hand?English doesn't give a stuff what other languages do. It takes words from any language that has a word that's interesting and doesn't care too much if it doesn't retain the same meaning. Likewise, it doesn't care what other languages do to "its" words. I've spent years in non-English speaking countries and found it amusing what bizarre things happen to English words. I've long since gotten over those folk (and English speaking natives) getting it "wrong". Have a look at the first couple of paragraphs of Bill Bryson's book Mother Tounge. It's hilarious. share
But then again, the fact that in a country like the U.S there is actually another sport which is called football, where you very rarely use your foot and the fans of which have often said thing like "I don't like a sport where a man can't use his hands" with reference to football/"soccer". And these idiots still call their sport FOOTball. This is why I share the resentment for "soccer" still.
let's not get into an argument about semantics.
Correct me if I am wrong but here is what I understand.
Soccer came from the term asSOCiation football.
American football's name came from it being derived from Rugby Football which is its full name
99.9% of the world calls football, football (surprisingly). There is only one country where this is different.
That is good information. I was not aware.
I am American. I just can't bring myself to refer to soccer as football. But if I say it and spell it as "futbol" that works for me.
One team from outside the United States can participate in the World Series, the Toronto Blue Jays. But you are still absolutely right that Major League Baseball does not have a true world series. The World Baseball Classic is a true world series. That tournament began in 2006 and has been played every four years by sixteen teams representing different nations. Japan has won twice and the Dominican Republic won once.
This might be the same country that holds a World Series where only teams from that particular country can participate in.
LOL, the English were the ones who invented that word "soccer" to begin with. Derived from "association football."
shareoh dear, more people calling football, soccer
99.9% of the world calls football, football
Educate yourself. Soccer is the original name for the game.
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/06/the-origin-of-the-word-soccer/
Don't know, but it bugs the *beep* out of me.
That said, it's amusing that most of the rest of this thread is devoted to the debate of "football" vs. "soccer", which has nothing to do with the real question.
The war is not meant to be won... it is meant to be continuous.
Soccer is the most popular sport in South America.
Didn't they mention early in the movie that many members of the team were of European descent and preferred rugby over soccer?
Not only that, but it's also usually referred to it as a "Brazilian soccer team", rather than a Uruguayan rugby team. Because, you know, Brazil is the only country in South America.
shareRugby and Soccer are both sports that are common in other places, but not popular in America.
Until I read Parrado's book (and read online), I really had no idea what the heck rugby was. I kind of figured it was a lot like soccer, but I guess it's closer to football. It sounds brutal, honestly. Not sure I'd want my son playing it (!) so I'm glad it's not popular here.
I think we confuse them just because we're unfamiliar with them.
I have heard jokes and comments about the events depicted in this movie many times, and almost every time the person talking says "soccer", not rugby. Where did this (seemingly) wide-spread mistake start?
Ooh, you're so original parroting Nando Parrado's words.
share